J is for Journey
by CurlyRed president and principal designer M. Kendall Ludwig
Life is a journey, not a destination —that catchphrase is all well and good, except for all of those times when you just want to get there already. I don't know about you, but this idea bring on the continuous journey that is life can be maddening. Especially when I feel like I'm learning the same lesson, over and over again.
In 1 Peter 1:18 (MSG) it says: “Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God.” I take this to mean that the only way we can more fully understand the deepest truths about ourselves, the Divine and all creation occurs as we experience all this life has to offer: the joy and sorrow, triumphs and sorrows, new life and death. In a recent Rob Bell podcast episode called "This Again?," he argues that when you're faced with that feeling of having to learn the same lesson over again, it's not really the case. Bell reasons that we evolve over time, so we are a different person facing a similar set of circumstances. The "newest version of us" has a different tool box of skills that we've attained so that we might better face that same lesson.
Here's a few other encouraging quotes about our life's journey:
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”
― Michelle Obama“The only journey is the one within.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke“Never stop just because you feel defeated. The journey to the other side is attainable only after great suffering.”
― Santosh Kalwar“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
― Heraclitus
So I encourage you to embrace the journey, and give yourself (and everyone you meet along the way) grace in remembering that we're all just doing the best we can. Happy journeying!
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Custom illustration by junior designer Olivia Weeks
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